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WILKES-BARRE — Two days after hitting and seriously wounding a motorcyclist in her second drunken driving case in six months, a former Drums school teacher put herself into rehab at her own expense — a fact that saved her from going to jail Tuesday.

Appearing in court to be sentenced in two cases, including on an aggravated assault by vehicle charge for breaking the motorcyclist’s back, Kathleen Ann Beltrami offered a tearful apology and said her time in treatment — funded by her pension account — has helped get her sober.

“I’m extremely sorry for what happened, and I’m taking my sobriety extremely seriously,” said Beltrami, 55, of 20 Palmer Court. “I don’t ever plan to drink again for the rest of my life.”

Noting that since the crash Beltrami has spent about seven months in in-patient treatment, Luzerne County Senior Judge Hugh F. Mundy imposed a sentence of six to 36 months in custody. The judge gave Beltrami credit for the 214 days she spent in rehab, granting her immediate parole because she has surpassed the minimum sentence.

Resigned

Beltrami resigned from her position as a language arts teacher at Drums Elementary/Middle School after being charged with seriously injuring motorcyclist Benjamin Minich of Weatherly in a September crash. Prosecutors say her blood-alcohol content after police found her passed out in her garage was 0.23 percent — nearly three times the legal limit.

Just six months earlier, Beltrami faced charges for driving under the influence after showing up drunk at a police station before noon on a Tuesday.

She pleaded guilty in both cases last month, admitting guilt to charges of aggravated assault by vehicle, fleeing the scene of an injury crash and driving under the influence.

In court Tuesday, her Kingston-based attorney, Frank Nocito, noted that Beltrami’s problems began as she was going through a tough time in her life.

Court records show that Beltrami filed for divorce against her husband a month before her first drunken driving arrest, citing an “irretrievably broken” marriage and the fact that her husband had kicked her out of the family home in January 2016.

“Ms. Beltrami was going through a rather difficult and contentious divorce at the time,” Nocito said.

According to prosecutors, the first arrest came after Beltrami showed up at the Butler Twp. police station drunk at approximately 11:30 a.m. March 8, 2016, asking to talk to an officer. She appeared off-balance, however, and admitted she had been drinking the night before and into the morning.

Testing showed she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.166 percent, more than twice the legal limit for driving, according to prosecutors.

Assistant District Attorney Gerry Scott said during the hearing that Beltrami has a master’s degree in secondary education yet still failed to stop drinking after that arrest.

Counseling

Beltrami did seek counseling after that arrest, but relapsed — as evidenced by the crash the afternoon of Sept. 7, Nocito said.

According to prosecutors, Minich had been travelling southbound on North Hunter Highway in Butler Twp. when Beltrami, who was driving north on North Old Turnpike Road, pulled out in front of him, causing a crash that threw him from the bike.

Beltrami briefly stopped her vehicle and pulled off the road to ask if Minich was OK. Then Beltrami, who smelled of alcohol, drove off as at least one witness implored her to stay, according to prosecutors.

Minich suffered a compression fracture of a vertebrae and a dislocated hip as a result of the crash, according to prosecutors. His current condition was not known Tuesday.

After a witness identified Beltrami as the driver, police followed a trail of vehicle fluid to her home, which was not far from the scene. Police arriving at her home saw the fluid trail disappear under Beltrami’s garage door.

There was no answer, but then police saw Beltrami lying face-down on the garage floor at the bottom of some stairs, near a car with front-end damage. Police broke in to check on her welfare, finding her with glassy eyes and smelling of alcohol, prosecutors said.

When Beltrami woke up, she said she didn’t know how to work the doorknob to get inside the house.

She admitted drinking and taking medication for depression, according to prosecutors.

Beltrami “didn’t delay” in getting help and was in treatment within days, Nocito said. She has been billed more than $85,000 for the treatment and has been paying it off with her pension, he said.

Nocito said the sentence Beltrami received Tuesday was appropriate.

Contact the writer: , 570-821-2058, @cvjimhalpin

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